by Joey Papania
LSU Sports Information
Last year, the LSU football team opened the season with a pair of non-conference wins over San Jose State and North Texas. This season the Tigers opened with two non-conference victories over Western Carolina and Houston.
Last season, LSU dropped the SEC opener to the University of Auburn in Tiger Stadium. This year, the Tigers traveled to Jordan-Hare Stadium with the same result, the first loss of the season at the hands of the Auburn Tigers.
Last season, LSU would follow the Auburn loss with a seven-game slide. The eight-game losing streak was the worst in LSU history and solidified the second straight losing season for the LSU football program. This year, well….
Head coach Nick Saban and the rest of the Tigers are confident that the comparisons end there.
“I hate when we get compared to last year or teams of the past,” LSU senior cornerback Fred Booker said. “Last year was last year. This is a whole new team, a whole new staff and a whole new scheme. It’s nothing like last year.”
From a broad view, the Tigers are again opening in similar fashion. But it is safe to say that this is an improved football team. So far this year, LSU has avenged the 1999 Houston loss, a loss that would eventually lead to the dismissal of former head coach Gerry Dinardo. The Tigers also played an improved Auburn football team on the road closer than the 34-17 score would indicate.
“I think the biggest difference between this year and last year is the effort that we put forth from start to finish,” Booker said. “This year’s loss (to Auburn) slipped away from us. Last year, we didn’t have a chance. So I think the biggest difference is that we are going to play for 60 minutes, regardless of what the scoreboard reads.”
Some argue that a loss is a loss. But for a team looking to rebuild, it’s sometimes how you play the game. This is the same program that collected three SEC wins in the last two seasons. The acquisition of a new coaching staff does not automatically come equipped with winning football.
That takes time and effort. And the confidence level is high among the players and staff.
“I think we are going to be a lot more well prepared for the games in the future,” junior quarterback Josh Booty said. “We were in the (Auburn) game last week on the road. Last year we were just totally clobbered at home. I think we just need to be more consistent. We are only three weeks into the system, so we’re going to get better each week.”
The one goal that seems to be consistent among both coaches and players this year is to play a complete football game. The Tigers combined for eight losses of six points or less in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. This summer, the team adopted the theme, “Eye of the Tiger for 60 minutes.” So far this year, LSU has shown that they do not plan on quitting.
“We’ve played hard and have established the fact that we can play hard,” head coach Nick Saban said. “Now we have to play smarter for longer, and get better execution on both sides of the ball as well as on special teams.”
Building a program takes time. Ideally, coaches, players and fans alike would like to wave a magic wand implementing the new scheme and correcting all mistakes. But realistically, patience is necessary to get the program where it needs to be.
“You want to win every game by 40 points, put LSU back on the map and just set the world on fire,” said Booty. “Sometimes you have to take it play by play, down by down, and be as consistent as you can. That’s when you win ball games.”
This is a very young football team. The 2000 Tiger roster contains only 11 seniors. Couple that with a talented, yet new, coaching staff and you have the ingredients of a team with potential.
Potential is not immediate. Saban talks about being at stages. Located outside the LSU locker room is a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid are the Tigers’ first four games of the season. The goals continue to get bigger as the pyramid narrows. But the team cannot reach the next stage of the pyramid until they conquer the present task.
If the LSU football team has aspirations of a having a successful season and implementing the groundwork of a successful program, they must do it as a team.
“We are all LSU, and we are all playing the same team,” Booty said. “There are 11 of us on offense, 11 of us on defense and 11 of us on special teams. We need to play to the best of our ability together and to get everyone to play hard one play at a time. When we are playing together is when we have, and will, play our best football.”
Given time, the team is confident in their ability for success. The team will face adversity, but how will they respond? That is the true test of successful teams.
“Things are coming around,” Booker said. “Guys are trying to mold together. It’s just going to take time for things to click on all cylinders. We are still making some mental mistakes, but we will work those problems out, and we will have a great season.”